Neurology
Study: Experimental Anorexia Treatment with Deep Brain Stimulation May Provide Lasting Results
March 7, 2013 8:59 am | by Mass Device | News | CommentsIn what some are calling "a world 1st," researchers reported some success in treating severe anorexia patients via implanted electrodes that delivered electrical energy to the regions of the brain associated with emotion. The study enrolled 6 patients to receive the experimental treatment...
Class I Medical Device Recall: Ad-Tech Medical Instrument Corporation, Macro Micro Subdural Electrodes
March 7, 2013 12:00 am | by U.S. Food & Drug Administration | News | CommentsThere is a concern the microelectrodes are defective and may cause injury to the brain. As a result, there is the potential for scraping (abrasion) of brain tissue and for broken pieces to remain in the brain tissue when the physician removes the...
Boston Scientific hesitates to release full safety results for Watchman heart implant
March 6, 2013 1:27 pm | by Mass Device | News | CommentsOfficials at Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) announced this week that they would reveal only limited patient safety results when they present data from a clinical trial of the Watchman stroke prevention implant at the American College of Cardiology conference this week.
Brain-Boosting Technique Might Help Some Functions While Hurting Others
March 5, 2013 4:39 pm | by Massachusetts Institute of Technology | News | CommentsWe would surely all love a way to boost our brain power. But new research suggests that one promising experimental method could come with a cost. Using a noninvasive technique to stimulate the brain, researchers found they could enhance learning when they targeted a certain spot. But that also made people worse at automaticity.
Neuro Devices Maker Recalls Implanted Electrodes over Brain Damage Concerns
March 4, 2013 2:29 pm | by Mass Device | News | CommentsWisconsin-based medical device maker Ad-Tech Medical Instrument Corp. launched a wide-reaching recall of its Macro Micro Subdural Electrodes over concerns that the implanted devices could cause damage to the brain. The recall extends to devices manufactured from June 2006 to March 2012, according to an FDA notice.
Lower Extremity Functional Electrical Stimulation Cycling Promotes Physical & Neurological Recovery in Chronic Spinal Cord Injury
March 4, 2013 2:27 pm | by Bio-Medicine.Org | News | CommentsBALTIMORE , March 4, 2013 /- A new study by Kennedy Krieger Institute's International Center for Spinal Cord Injury (Epub ahead of print) finds that long-term lower extremity functional electrical stimulation (FES) cycling, as part of a rehabilitation regimen, is associated with substantial improvements in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI).
Five Psychiatric Disorders Share Genetic Risk Factors
February 28, 2013 4:01 pm | by Massachusetts Institute of Technology | News | CommentsFive different psychiatric illnesses share a handful of genetic risk factors, report researchers in The Lancet. Four DNA mutations were discovered in the genomes of people who had at least one of five distinct disorders: attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, autism, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia.
Neuro Kinetics Adds Software, Engineering Professionals as Push Continues for Improved Testing of Battlefield Concussions
February 28, 2013 9:48 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsMedical diagnostic device manufacturer Neuro Kinetics, Inc. said today that it has added five software and engineering professionals to its staff as the company continues to develop new testing protocols for diagnosis of concussions and other brain injuries. ...
Rats Communicate Through Brain Chips
February 28, 2013 9:00 am | by Massachusetts Institute of Technology | News | CommentsPairs of rats can communicate through brain chips and collaborate to perform a task, report researchers in today’s Scientific Reports. Brain activity recorded in one rat was translated into a pattern of electrical pulses that were then transmitted to another rat that had been trained to push a particular lever in response to one of two patterns of electrical stimulation in its brain.
Cognoptix begins pre-pivotal clinical trial of its drug/device test designed to identify Alzheimer’s disease via beta amyloid signature in the eyes
February 28, 2013 8:30 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsACTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 28, 2013--Cognoptix announced today that it has begun a 40-patient clinical trial of its SAPPHIRE II eye test designed to identify Alzheimer’s disease patients via a beta amyloid (“Ab”) signature in their eyes. By detecting a specific fluorescent signature of...
FDA Advisory Panel Recommends Approval of the NeuroPace RNS® System for Medically Refractory Epilepsy
February 26, 2013 8:00 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsMOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 26, 2013--NeuroPace, Inc. today announced that on February 22, 2013 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Neurological Devices Panel voted unanimously (11 to 0 with two abstentions) that the clinical benefits of the NeuroPace RNS System outweigh...
Brain Implants Can Reset Misfiring Circuits
February 25, 2013 3:39 pm | by Massachusetts Institute of Technology | News | CommentsA study that combined electrical stimulation of the brain with advanced imaging has shown how correcting misfiring neural circuits can lessen the symptoms of a common psychiatric disorder. A brain-pacemaker helped put out-of-sync brain circuits back on track in patients with extreme forms of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Implanted Electrodes Can Help Amputees Gain Sensation in Prosthetics
February 25, 2013 7:29 am | by Mass Device | News | CommentsSwiss researchers have a developed a new prosthetic limb system that uses implanted electrodes to send sensory signals from the limb back to the brain, creating a more realistic sense of touch. "We could be on the cusp of providing new and more effective clinical solutions to amputees in the next years," Silvestro Micera, head engineer...
FDA Panel Recommends Approval of Neuropace's Anti-Epilepsy Implant
February 22, 2013 6:33 pm | by Mass Device | News | CommentsCalifornia neurostimulation devices maker NeuroPace crept 1 step closer to an FDA win for its epilepsy implant with near-unanimous approval from the FDA's Neurological Devices Advisory Panel. The expert panelists today voted unanimously that the RNS implantable neurostimulator demonstrated safety in clinical trials...
NMMC Physicians Implant State's First Vagal Nerve Stimulator for Heart Failure
February 21, 2013 3:39 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsDoctors at North Mississippi Medical Center recently implanted the state's first vagal nerve stimulator as part of a clinical research study to treat heart failure through nerve stimulation in the neck. According to cardiac electrophysiologist Karl Crossen, M.D., and neurosurgeon Louis...
Integrated Implant Makes It Easier to Control the Brain with Light
February 20, 2013 10:15 am | by IEEE Spectrum | News | CommentsAlmost a decade ago, Stanford University researchers jump-started a new field of study when they genetically altered brain cells, shone light on them, and demonstrated that they could control the modified neurons. This brain-control technique, called optogenetics, has since taken off at labs around the world and could lead to breakthroughs for Parkinson’s disease...
Neuralstem Grants Licenses For Central Nervous System Therapy Surgical Devices To Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
February 20, 2013 9:15 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsNeuralstem, Inc. (NYSE MKT: CUR) announced that it has granted licenses to intellectual property surrounding its spinal cord delivery platform, floating cannula, and method for delivering therapeutic agents to the spinal cord to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a non-profit academic medical ...
Monitoring Concussions from the Sidelines with a Mobile App
February 18, 2013 7:29 am | by Mass Device | News | CommentsMassachusetts researchers developed a smartphone app that doctors may be able to use to monitor neurological activity on the go. The app may make a big splash among sports doctors who need to keep an eye on the health of athletes at risk of traumatic brain injury.
Consistently Good Acute Stroke Outcomes and Device Safety With The Penumbra System™ Again Confirmed In NIH-Funded Study
February 13, 2013 1:41 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 13, 2013--Last week Joseph Broderick, MD, Principle Investigator of the Interventional Management Of Stroke III (IMS III) Trial, announced the overall results and major subgroup analyses at the International Stroke Conference (ISC) in Honolulu, Hawaii.
NeuroSigma Invited to Present an Overview of eTNS for the Treatment of Epilepsy and Depression at The Royal Society of Medicine in London
February 11, 2013 3:19 am | by Bio-Medicine.Org | News | CommentsLOS ANGELES , Feb. 11, 2013 /- NeuroSigma, Inc., a California -based medical device company, today announced that Christopher DeGiorgio , M.D., Vice President of Neurology at NeuroSigma and Professor of Neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and Colin Kealey , M.D., Manager of Business Development at NeuroSigma, will present in London , an over...
Pitt/UPMC Team Describes Technology that Lets Spinal Cord-Injured Man Control Robot Arm with Thoughts
February 8, 2013 1:44 pm | by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine | News | CommentsResearchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC describe in PLoS ONE how an electrode array sitting on top of the brain enabled a 30-year-old paralyzed man to control the movement of a character on a computer screen in three dimensions with just his thoughts. It also enabled him to move a robot arm to touch a friend’s hand for the first time in the seven years.
Effective Drug-free Treatment for Migraine Published in NEUROLOGY
February 7, 2013 10:34 am | by PR Newswire | News | CommentsLIEGE, Belgium, February 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The American scientific journal NEUROLOGY publishes the positive results of the PREMICE clinical study on the effectiveness and safety of the CEFALY® medical device in the prevention of migraine. NEUROLOGY (official journal of the...
$1,000,000 Global B.R.A.I.N. Prize Seeks Applicants
February 6, 2013 10:08 am | by PR Newswire | News | CommentsTEL AVIV, Israel, February 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Israel Brain Technologies (IBT) is seeking applicants for its $1,000,000 Global B.R.A.I.N. Prize competition. Applications will be accepted until March 15, 2013. The Global B.R.A.I.N (Breakthrough Research And Innovation in...
ZOLL Receives Shonin Approval from Japan to Market Intravascular Temperature Management Technology
February 6, 2013 12:05 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsCHELMSFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 6, 2013--ZOLL Medical Corporation, a manufacturer of medical devices and related software solutions, has received Shonin approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) to enter the Japanese market with its Intravascular Temperature...
GE Healthcare and NFL team up to fight sports-related brain injuries
February 5, 2013 3:20 pm | by Mass Device | News | CommentsHealth technology giant GE Healthcare joins forces with the National Football Assn. to develop concussion detection systems and brain protection technologies to make football a safer sport. Technology giant GE (NYSE:GE) announced a new partnership with the National Football Assn. in pursuit of better concussion detection technology and materials that may better protect athletes from traumatic brain injuries.
